“For a brief period there was such a thing as the working-class hero, but we’ve all become middle-class. We’ve written ourselves out, into a ‘sophisticated’ place.” India, with its startling contrasts of wealth and poverty, offered a new approach.

“What’s brilliant about India is that anything’s possible. It’s a young country, like America. I’ve got this naive optimism that the underdog can prevail and overcome, and transposing that to somewhere as uncynical and romantic as India gave me a whole new lease on life.”